Ferndale precinct twp5 Democrats (now 118)

this is my letter to several senators today.....i very much hope this nomination will be fought.

The Founding fathers rejected unitary executive power and we too must rise up against it. Our country has thrived under government by 3 co equal branches. Unchecked power will be abused. Isn’t it ironic that at a moment when there is a Y in the road, both the first time and now, George’s are involved. Today over-sight is out of sight. It is my hope that we can come together and restore our hope. In my America, we do not: torture, wage pre-emptive war based on lies, hold humans without charges- in limbo, allow the executive branch to break the law, attempt to dominate other peoples of the world and co-operate only when it’s convenient for us.
Confirming Alito will take us down the wrong path. If there is no fight there can be no win. This is the time for the Democrats to stand up and fight. He must be filibustered. I pray you have the votes.
Filibuster!!!!!

Thank you,
Peggy Borgens
PCO Ferndale 118
Let your senator know how you feel.....
Senator Murray
Senator Cantwell

government contact page

let the democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee know they did a good job....and that we must win this fight!!!!http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

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State of Belief presented by The Interfaith Alliance and hosted by Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, premiered Sunday. Walter Cronkite was on to discuss religion and the media - and his hopes for more outspoken journalism.Join us each week when the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy offers listeners critical analysis of the news of religion and politics, and seeks to provide listeners with an understanding and appreciation of religious liberty. Visit http://www.airamericaradio-lists.com/wcdcggw_zmttmmftpn.html for updates on the upcoming show.

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Local lawyer to run for state Senate Candidate to challenge Brandland
JON GAMBRELL
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD



A lawyer working for Lummi Nation will challenge state Sen. Dale Brandland for his 42nd District seat this fall.
Jesse M. Salomon, 29, filed with the state late last month to run.
A former civil prosecutor for the Lummis, Salomon now represents victims of domestic violence in tribal and state courts. He also served as a delegate for Howard Dean at the Demo-cratic National Convention in 2004.
"We need younger leadership," said Salomon, a Bellingham resident. "I just feel like the people of my generation have not yet stepped up to the plate."
Salomon believes he'd better represent the county's 42nd District, which includes the northern portion of Bellingham and the entire county west of the Cascades. He wants to provide more push for renewable and clean energy, to protect the environment and end the nation's reliance on foreign oil.
As growth issues continue to dominate concerns around the county, Salomon said he'd do more to empower local governments to make decisions tailored for their communities.
"I don't think it's fair for someone in Olympia to dictate how we grow," he said. "We need to have sovereignty in deciding the way we grow."
Brandland, a former Whatcom County sheriff, won his seat in 2002 after a close race with then-incumbent Georgia Gardner. Beginning his fourth year serving the county in Olympia, Brandland said he's worked hard for his district, including serving on five different legislative committees.
"I think I've done a good job with keeping my ear to the ground and my finger on the pulse of what's best for the county," he said.
Salomon isn't the only young challenger campaigning for the state Legislature in Whatcom County this year. Jasper D. MacSlarrow, a 29-year-old aide to U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, has already filed to run against incumbent Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale.
Though much younger than Brandland, Salomon said he had a lot to offer to the district.
"It provides a perspective I think is lacking in the Legislature," Salomon said. "I'm not too young - just young enough."

Reach Jon Gambrell at jon.gambrell@bellingham herald.com or call 715-2263.

and this from washblog

i agree with Al.......


Transcript: Al Gore On the Limits of Executive Power
Monday, 16 January 2006
by Al Gore

.......A special counsel should immediately be appointed by the Attorney General to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the President. We have had a fresh demonstration of how an independent investigation by a special counsel with integrity can rebuild confidence in our system of justice. Patrick Fitzgerald has, by all accounts, shown neither fear nor favor in pursuing allegations that the Executive Branch has violated other laws. Republican as well as Democratic members of Congress should support the bipartisan call of the Liberty Coalition for the appointment of a special counsel to pursue the criminal issues raised by warrantless wiretapping of Americans by the President.
Second, new whistleblower protections should immediately be established for members of the Executive Branch who report evidence of wrongdoing -- especially where it involves the abuse of Executive Branch authority in the sensitive areas of national security.
Third, both Houses of Congress should hold comprehensive-and not just superficial-hearings into these serious allegations of criminal behavior on the part of the President. And, they should follow the evidence wherever it leads.
Fourth, the extensive new powers requested by the Executive Branch in its proposal to extend and enlarge the Patriot Act should, under no circumstances be granted, unless and until there are adequate and enforceable safeguards to protect the Constitution and the rights of the American people against the kinds of abuses that have so recently been revealed.
Fifth, any telecommunications company that has provided the government with access to private information concerning the communications of Americans without a proper warrant should immediately cease and desist their complicity in this apparently illegal invasion of the privacy of American citizens.
full speech transcript
listen to the speech

i will let Maria and Patty know....
Senator Murray
Senator Cantwell

National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2005 and U.S. marine aquaculture

Latest Major Action: 6/8/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Senator cantwell is on that committee.

Ask Senator Cantwell to take a strong stand for all the environmental studies be done before S1195 is sent to the floor for a vote. This bill is bad and we are in a precarious position environmentally. Slow this down and make sure we have the science to back up our decisions....for our children and grandchildren's future.
Maria Cantwell (202) 224-3441 or cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html


To check on bill status: http://thomas.loc.gov

What if you knew there was nothing depleted about “depleted uranium? It is the by-product of processing natural uranium. It is 88% as radioactive as the original uranium. We have about 1.5 billion pounds, of "depleted uranium" at H-bomb factories in the US. It is used to make uranium bullets, shells, land mines and regular bombs. As we spread tons of DU in war zones, our troops get a heavy dose and it spreads throughout the world in the atmosphere. Uranium, one of the heaviest elements found in nature, increases in radioactivity as it decays. As we spread more and more of it in Iraq and Afghanistan it will be the “gift that keeps on giving”.

Heads roll at Veterans Administration Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal blamed
by Bob Nichols Project Censored Award Winner
Considering the tons of depleted uranium used by the U.S., the Iraq war can truly be called a nuclear war.Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War.Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, “The real reason for Mr. Principi’s departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military.”Bernklau continued, “This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terrible truth is now being revealed.”He added, “Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of ‘Disabled Vets’ means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!” The disability rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam.
full article

Depleted uranium: Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets A death sentence here and abroad
by Leuren Moret
“Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” - Henry Kissinger, quoted in “Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POW’s in Vietnam”Vietnam was a chemical war for oil, permanently contaminating large regions and countries downriver with Agent Orange, and environmentally the most devastating war in world history. But since 1991, the U.S. has staged four nuclear wars using depleted uranium weaponry, which, like Agent Orange, meets the U.S. government definition of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Vast regions in the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with radiation.
........Just 467 U.S. personnel were wounded in the three-week Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. Out of 580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000 are dead, and by 2000 there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability. This astounding number of disabled vets means that a decade later, 56 percent of those soldiers who served now have medical problems.
full article

(At an April press conference, a group of New York Army National Guard vets raised their hands when asked if they have health problems. The soldiers, all from the 442nd Military Police Company, are complaining of headaches and fatigue after what they think is exposure to depleted uranium during their recent tour in Iraq.Photo: http://www.americanfreepress.net/)



Support Congressman Jim McDermott’s (D-WA) legislation to study the health and environmental impacts from the militaries use of depleted uranium in combat zones and clean-up of sites in the U.S. H. R. 2410 We should demand the truth about what is being done in our name. This is not a partisan issue. Most of us have children and grandchildren.

I will let Representative Rick Larsen know I strongly support this legislation.
bill status

follow the fighting dems with Sam and Marcos (stream at Air America Radio from 4pm-7pm)

Every Tuesday night on The Majority Report.
The Majority Report and Dailykos.com have teamed up to profile Democratic military vets who've decided to take another step in public service and run for Congress.
Each Tuesday night on The Majority Report over the coming months, The Majority Report's Sam Seder and Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos.com will be introducing and checking in with soldiers who've had enough of Republican Washington and have decided to fight back.

the Alito nomination to the supreme court will threaten our rights, strengthen the executive branch and support corporations for years to come.....our environment, privacy rights and the ability to create a society we can all live well in will suffer. he is part of a group of people who want to take us back to the days of the "robber barens"....most of us will not do so well in those circumstances....let our senators know how you feel.....
Senator Murray
Senator Cantwell

government contact page
let the democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee know they did a good job today....and that we must win this fight.
http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

the center is doing a good job following this...
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=8473